How long do you need to keep receipts in Canada?

The short answer everyone repeats is "six years." The part that matters (and that most articles get wrong) is six years from when. Getting the counting wrong means shredding records the CRA is still entitled to ask for.

Six years from the end of the tax year, not from the receipt

The CRA's rule: keep your records and supporting documents for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to (CRA: where to keep your records and for how long). For individuals and sole proprietors, the tax year is the calendar year; for corporations it's the fiscal year.

A worked example: a receipt from March 2025, claimed on your 2025 return, relates to the tax year ending December 31, 2025, so it must be kept until December 31, 2031. That's why practitioners casually say "seven years": you're always holding the current year plus six more.

Three wrinkles that catch people:

• File late, keep longer. If you file a return late, the six years run from the date you file, not from the tax year end.
• Some records stay "live" much longer. The clock runs from the last year a record relates to. Anything feeding ongoing claims (capital cost allowance, capital property you still own, loss carryforwards) keeps relating to new tax years, so those documents can stay required for decades.
• Disputes pause everything. If you've filed an objection or appeal, keep the records until it's fully resolved.

Is a photo of a receipt acceptable to the CRA?

Yes: done properly, the image can legally replace the paper. The CRA states that paper documents imaged in line with the national imaging standard "become the permanent records," after which you may destroy the paper originals (CRA: acceptable format and imaging paper documents; the governing guidance is IC05-1, Electronic Record Keeping). The practical bar: the image must be a faithful, legible reproduction: the same information as the original, nothing significant obscured.

Given that thermal receipts physically fade (often within months to a few years), capturing an image early isn't just allowed. It's the only way most receipts survive the full retention window at all.

Why a credit card statement isn't enough

A statement proves you paid someone, not what you bought or why it was a business expense. The CRA's guidance for individuals says you may need to support claims with more than payment records, and for GST/HST registrants it's black-letter law: input tax credits require prescribed details a card statement never shows. For purchases of $100 or more, that includes the supplier's GST/HST registration number (CRA: records you need to support an input tax credit). Keep the receipt and the statement: proof of purchase plus proof of payment is exactly the pair auditors ask for.

What happens if you can't produce receipts

Canada's tax system is self-assessing: the burden of backing up a claim sits with you. In an audit, an expense you can't substantiate is routinely disallowed: you pay the extra tax, plus interest. Courts have occasionally accepted other credible evidence in place of missing documents, but "occasionally, in court" is not a record-keeping strategy.

Destroying records early requires permission

One more thing most people don't know: destroying required records before the six years are up isn't yours to decide. It requires the CRA's written permission (Form T137). In practice, nobody applies; they just keep the records. Which is easy, if the records keep themselves.

The takeaway

• Keep every receipt for six years from the end of the tax year it relates to. Think "this year plus six."
• A clear photo, captured properly, can stand in for the paper, and outlives it.
• Statements prove payment, receipts prove the purchase. You want both.
• No receipt in an audit usually means no deduction.